Accusation comes after week of clashes across line of control in which 15 Pakistani and four Indian soldiers have died

India says the body of one of its soldiers killed in Kashmir on Friday night was mutilated by militants, who fled under cover of Pakistani fire.

The accusation comes after a week of bloody clashes across the line of control in Kashmir in which 15 Pakistani and four Indian soldiers have been killed, according to Indian army officials.

The soldier, identified as Manjeet Singh, was killed in a gunfight in Kupwara district near the ceasefire line that divides Indian and Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.

An army spokesperson told local media the soldiers body had been mutilated in an unspecified way by the militants, who managed to escape due to the covering fire provided to them from the Pakistan army posts.

The despicable act of mutilating the jawans [junior soldiers] body reflects the barbarism pervading in official and unofficial organisations in Pakistan, the spokesperson added. The army said the incident would be responded to appropriately.